@hcppiestcoveonearth
Who: Zach and Zay
Where: Zay's place
Zach had heard the rumors, the growing rumblings around town that Zay had caused quite a stir at Obsidian engaging in some very public acts. Actions that reflected poorly on not only Zay but their entire family. Zack was disappointed but not surprised. As much as Zach had tried to impress the importance of upholding their family's reputation to Zay, stress that his actions affected more than just himself his brother never seemed to listen. Zay was always more concerned with immediate gratification, with satisfying his own wants and needs to stop and think about how these things. Zach tried not to let it bother him too much but he had let himself live with regrets for years, hurt Nicole and Olivia, missed out on countless moments with them under the belief that he was doing what was best for the St. James family name. He hadn't sacrificed all of that just for Zay to tarnish the family reputation over one night of fun. He needed to address this before his brother caused even more damage.
Before he'd really processed where he was going, Zach found himself outside of Isaiah's place knocking on the door. Then he was standing waiting impatiently for his brother to open the door. He knew Zay didn't have a job so he wasn't at work. Finally Zay opened the door and Zach gave him a disapproving look. "Can I come in? We need to talk." He said sternly not waiting for an an answer before he pushed past him and stepped into Zay's place. He waited until Zay had closed the door behind him. This was not a conversation the rest of the town needed to hear. "What's this I'm hearing about your.... indiscretions during the snowstorm?" Zach practically demanded crossing his arms as he stared Zay down disapprovingly. "When are you going to learn that your actions reflect back on this family? We have a reputation to uphold in this town Zay." He reminded him even though he was certain it would fall on deaf ears. It always did.
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Zay didn’t look surprised to see him. If anything, he was surprised it had taken this long for him to show up. He shut the door with a soft click and leaned back against it instead of stepping further into the room. “Indiscretions,” he repeated, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. “You make it sound like I robbed a bank.” He pushed off the door finally, walking a few steps into the living room but not inviting Zach to sit. “The lights went out. Half the town was drunk. Obsidian turned into a blackout carnival and suddenly I’m the headline because someone’s phone caught a silhouette through a curtain.” He gave a humorless laugh. “That gossip blog makes it sound like I staged it with a spotlight and a marching band.” He sighed. “It was consensual and it was private until someone decided to make it public.”
When Zach brought up the family name again, Zay exhaled through his nose, dragging his hand over his face. “There it is. The St. James name. The sacred shell we all have to hide inside so the town doesn’t clutch their pearls.” He shook his head. “You might be surprised to hear this but I didn’t sleep with someone to spite you. Or the ghost of every St. James who ever ran for Sheriff.” He shook his head. “You keep acting like I’m out here committing crimes. I had sex. During a black out. I didn’t cheat on anyone. I didn’t lie to anyone. I didn’t hurt anyone. Sure it probably wasn’t the best place for us to hook up but it wasn’t like we had an audience.” He sat down on the couch. “If the worst thing I’ve done is get caught having sex in a VIP lounge during a blackout, I think the family name will survive.”